Winner of the SDPF Monthly Photo Contest/Challenge

Woo Hoo!

Fame is thrust upon me.

In only my second entry for the online San Diego Photo Forum’s monthy Contest/Challenge I have emerged victorious. For the month of February, 2010, my photo (below) was voted the best of the month. The category was Patterns/Repetition. It’s a heady achievement. My work stood out from over seven other entries (eight to be precise) and received a plurality of votes cast (okay five votes out of 13 cast). My photo raced ahead of the nearest competitors by 1 and 2 votes respectively.

I’m pretty certain that the image won because of the subtle connection of the subject to the cateogory. At first glance, the only repetition in it is the repeated rows of candles that light the prayerful observers face. But on further reflection, one would have to suspect that the subtle message of prayer itself as a patterned/repetitive act was clear to the astute observer/voter from the SDPF.

Wow, am I full of s*** or what.

Okay… in all seriousness this is no BFD – but gratifying anyway. And I think there’s some kind of prize associated with winning. A limited term paid membership on SmugMug.com, which is a non-free competitor to Flickr. Not sure how long the membership is for, but using it will eventually obligate me to stop using it or start paying for it.

Anyway, getting more than just my own vote slightly reduces my guilt at buying a new Canon L-Series 100mm macro lens this week. And it seals the deal for me to purchase a used circular polarizing filter that fits my new lens from one of the forum’s talented members.

Here’s the the winning image (click to enlarge)…

Click here for a link to the forum post that shows the 9 entries for this month. Take a minute to check out the forum. It’s a friendly place…